The Least Dangerous Game--Chapter Six

She aimed at the crevasse, and risked a quick glance over her shoulder.

 "Look out!" screamed George.

 Just ahead of them, a long black skimmer swooped in front of them.

 "What the...!" shouted Benny in frustration.

 George his his face in his hands. "We're going to die! Again!!!" he wailed.

 Benny shuddered. She could hear the melodramatic exclamation points that he had added to the end of his sentence.

 Suddenly she realized that she was not shuddering.

 It was the ship.

 "Oh cruk!" she cried as the engines died. "Don't you ever keep your fuel tanks full?"

 "Why? We never use the vehicles!"

 The missile shot forwards.

 The black skimmer shot forwards.

 Benny, George, and their skimmer fell like a stone from the sky.

 Above, there was a fantastic explosion...

 *****
The Benny Internet Adventures
BIA#2: 'The Least Dangerous Game'
Chapter 6: "Up, Up and Away."
by Kris 'The Antiwesley' Herzog
*****

 As the skimmer she was in fell from the sky, Benny felt herself being whittled away piece by piece, molecule by molecule.

 She was being transmatted.

 

It is a little known fact that when the transmat process takes extra time to complete, that the transferee, in our case namely one Benny Summerfield, can find themselves capable of concious thought. And what, might you ask, was our heroine thinking about?

 "I need a good stiff drink."

 And George, also caught in the transferral, found himself thinking this:

 "AIIIEEE!!! I'm gonna DIE!"

 

Benny found herself standing on a huge steel deck. George, Robin and Arthur lay unconscious to one side, and the assassin woman was being led off on a stretcher.

 A well dressed man walked up to Benny and hastily offered her a cup of coffee.

 "Sorry, Ms.Summerfield. Most normal people pass out when we pick them up."

 "Well, most normal people don't have veins running at 90 proof." Benny smirked. "Where am I, anyway, and who should I thank for that untimely rescue?"

 "Please, allow me to introduce myself: My name is Mr. Raiph. My ship was passing overhead when the captain alerted me to the 'incident' you were involved in. Sadly, both the skimmers were destroyed. Your female friend was slightly injured in transit, and will be taken care of."

 "She's hardly my friend..." Benny replied. A group of stretcher parties came in and loaded Arthur, Robin and George onto gurneys and took them off. "They hired her to come after me so they could 'protect' me. I think. Then another goon showed up with a dagger, and the rest, shall we say is... history..."

 Mr. Raiph nodded. He held the dagger out. "This dagger?" he asked.

 Benny nodded. "I have no idea why anyone would want to give it to me, as it belongs to Irving Braxiatel. Perhaps, they wanted to use me as a erm... gobetween."

 Mr. Raiph again nodded. "This is the Sacrificial Dagger of the Cult of the Resurrection of Phu-Tan-La the Eightythird, isn't it?"

 It was Benny's turn to nod.

 "It was thought lost a long time ago. Perhaps someone found it and wanted to return it.." Raiph continued.

 "But why not bung it off in the mail and attach a little note saying: `Found this, heard it was yours, here you go'," Benny asked. "Why give it to me?"

 "Perhaps you could keep it safer than any security system ever could. But please," he said, tucking the dagger in a bag, handing it over to a purser, "come have dinner with me and tell me more about it." Mr. Raiph extended an arm and escorted Benny off the deck.

 

The same dark room. The same dark table. The same dark group of men.

 "There's been a slight 'hiccup' in the plan, gentlemen," said Cuticle.

 "What is it now?" Fingernail turned to look at him. "Has our agent got the artefact?" Cuticle shook his head.

 "Raiph. He's interfering again." Cuticle said.

 A new man spoke up, raising his well trimmed eyebrows neatly. "Raiph has been a thorn in our sides for too long. We might have to take... steps to rid ourselves of him." said Eyebrows.

 Fingernail turned to look at a man standing at the wall. "That Dark gentleman, works for the One Thousand group, he available?" The man standing at the wall shook his head.

 "Moider and Skulky?" offered Cuticle. The man again shook his head.

 "Well... who is available?" asked Eyebrow.

 The man standing by the wall turned around and walked to the table, tossing down a dossier. Fingernail picked it up. "Very well.. bring in Cryscheck.."

 Cuticle's eyes opened up wide: "You mean.. the Lonely Gunman?"

 The man standing by the wall, now standing by the table, nodded.

 

George woke up, finding himself strapped to a bed in a small room.

 "Oooh. ah... errr. Arthur?" he called out.

 "What is it,George?" Arthur replied from inside his cell.

 "Ermm.... it's kind of hard to protect the lady whilst strapped down." George said.

 "We know that, George." came Robin's reply from yet another cell.

 "Will you all shut up!" Fiera yelled from her cell. "You'll bring the guards down." In her cell, Fiera was frantically struggling with the straps as she tried to escape. "Don't you know who's ship we're on?"

 "No." came the single response.

 "It's Raiph's ship." she replied.

 "Who's the Raiph person, then?" Robin asked.

 "Raiph is the most feared assassin in the universe. He works in mysterious circles."

 "I don't remember hiring anyone with that name.." said Arthur.

 "Nor I." said Robin.

 "You probably didn't... he's out for something more... but what.." Fiera thought for a moment. Her eyes widen and her pace quickened. "He can't.."

 "What?" they all asked.

 "We have to get out of here, quickly." Fiera worked faster at her bonds.

 

Meanwhile Mr. Raiph's ship, the DarkStar, left orbit of Dellah and sped off into hyperspace.

 It was not alone...

 TO BE CONTINUED...

 [ Part 5 | Home | Back to the Collaborations | Up to index | Part 7 ]